There is lots of stuff wrong with the iPad (no word on multitasking and Flash, no camera, anemic port compliment) but there is a lot of things RIGHT with it. Look at the video. I cannot wait to try it out.

There is lots of stuff wrong with the iPad (no word on multitasking and Flash, no camera, anemic port compliment) but there is a lot of things RIGHT with it. Look at the video. I cannot wait to try it out.

Apple's smart not to put a camera on the iPad. I mean how dorky would you look holding up a device with a 10" screen to take a photo?

I do think that SDK 4.0 and the iPad SDK will allow for multitasking from 3rd parties eventually. With 10 hour battery life there's room to burn some energy for more productivity.

He's a mod so he has a few extra vBulletin privileges. That doesn't mean he should stop posting or should start acting like Digital Jesus.- SolipsismX

I can see people complaining about keeping the screen clean already, and rightly so. Also, watching video for longer than 10mins is a pleasure on my macbook as I don't have to hold the damn thing, but I fear with the ipad you'll get tired of having to prop it up. Certainly won't be something people take to bed to watch movies, unless you connect it to some ridiculous looking stand. Apart from those two initial grumbles, as well as no camera for ichat, it will be interesting to see how successful it really is.

One last point, don't any of think Apple is taking the p*ss with what they've done here? They've effectively taken their iphone business model, complete with app store and network contracts, and DUPLICATED it! All it took was making a slightly bigger clone of the iphone, doubling up all the apps (while developing costlier ipad apps) and justifying the whole thing by claiming it's a brilliant ebook reader/media player/netbook (ignoring the fact that people prefer to read a non-backlit screen too). Bah!

It is odd that with so much publicity, Apple didn't actually use it to sell any products. There was not a single thing new available to buy. At the end, they should have announced updated Core i5 Macbook Pros so that people could at least say ok I've seen the iPad, don't need it or will have to wait for it but ooh new laptops, I might buy one of those today. Really big opportunity wasted.

I kind of expected more than a 1GHz custom chip too. The Google Nexus One has a 1GHz chip. No real info on the GPU either but presumably no Tegra 2. 1024 x 768 video output suggests to me that it's not a hugely powerful graphics chip.

I don't think it's a joke of a device but I don't see it as a compelling purchase. No 3rd party multi-tasking was a surprise too, given the Palm demo running 50 apps, I really thought they'd make some effort this time round.

<snip> No 3rd party multi-tasking was a surprise too, given the Palm demo running 50 apps, I really thought they'd make some effort this time round.

Define multi-tasking for me. Taking up Android for comparison here as it support multi-tasking. Are you looking at something similar to Android's onResume and onPause convention? The handheld can support only one application on the screen for user interaction. Android's activity stack has only one activity on the top of the stack which the user can interact with and the activity thread is the only one you can update the views on. If you have long running tasks, you can always spawn off threads.

I assume the crib is that app's basically have to save state and die when the user switches to another on the iPhone?

Most of us employ the Internet not to seek the best information, but rather to select information that confirms our prejudices. - Nicholas D. Kristof

I don't know about being a joke, but I think they should have built in some kind of clever stand. Needing an ugly keyboard dock, or a case so the device actually rests on a table like a laptop does without with the need for an accessory are both inelegant and inconvenient solutions. I'm certain they could have added a very light, very thin minimal cleverly engineered stand as part of the hardware so you could watch a movie or type on a table if they put their minds to it.

Wait until they release the next MacBook Pro, expectations for some kind of mad multi-touch craziness will be high!

I don't know about being a joke, but I think they should have built in some kind of clever stand. Needing an ugly keyboard dock, or a case so the device actually rests on a table like a laptop does without with the need for an accessory are both inelegant and inconvenient solutions. I'm certain they could have added a very light, very thin minimal cleverly engineered stand as part of the hardware so you could watch a movie or type on a table if they put their minds to it.

Wait until they release the next MacBook Pro, expectations for some kind of mad multi-touch craziness will be high!

They did build a clever stand, just not to your specs. My guess is that the cover/stand accessory will be the default configuration for most users. It does exactly what you'd want it to: protects the screen and provides a couple of useful positions.

EDIT: Hey, is that true, in your sig? You predicted that the ebook app would be called "iBook"? If so, well played.

They spoke of the sayings and doings of their commander, the grand duke, and told stories of his kindness and irascibility.

Going to take pictures? Get a real camera. Or just use the iPhone? Think people.

Damn right, I've done a complete U-turn on this thing. Think I needed a good night's sleep to be able to digest all the information.

I will get one, and I'm sure multitasking et al isn't far away either. The next iphone should have a half decent camera, as well as the possibility of using an actual camera to take photos means the lack of camera doesn't bother me. The accessories such as keyboard and various stands make this thing feel and look very practical.

I don't think the iPad is "a joke", but I'm not overly stunned by it either. I have an iPhone and a MacBook Pro (and a Mac Pro and ...) and I don't think the iPad does things better than either of these.

It's trying to fill a gap that I wasn't aware existed.

The nice thing about a MacBook (or Pro or Air) is the keyboard. You can see the whole screen while typing! Wow! And you get tactile feedback. Don't know about you, but I can type faster on my MBP than on my iPhone. Admittedly a laptop won't fit in my back pocket

The nice thing about the iPhone is that it does fit in my pocket and I always have it with me. I can access email and phone/sms from anywhere (not living in the US, I actually have full coverage here ).

The iPad won't fit in my pocket. If I want to take it somewhere, it will need a rucksack and case, in which case it might as well have a keyboard, raw processing power and a 15" screen.

The Kindle is thinner, lighter, has a longer-lasting battery and a higher resolution matt display. Also I suspect a grey-scale display is clearer than a colour display, even if it were to have the same resolution.

The Kindle would be much better for reading.

I'm not that keen on buying eBook licenses but what I spend a lot of time doing is reading wikipedia. I can spend hours and hours following links. And downloading that via GSM G3 is free no data plan involved.

What the iPad will doubtless be better at is displaying photos. And playing games. And downloading apps.

Am I the only one who wishes Apple would stop going on about 140,000 apps? Most of them are a serious embarrassment! Or is Apple endorsing the validity of the PC-world's opinion that there are "more" programs for the PC than for the Mac? I've downloaded about 30 apps, of which 24 were free. Around half are games for my kids' occasional use, and the rest I don't really need either.

So, I wish Apple well with their iPad. I expect they will sell a fair few. Maybe, as a Mac fan, I'll end up getting one anyway \ but for now I think I'll pass.

The iPad is technology for technologie's sake. I've got a busy working life and I try to spend my free time mostly socialising with friends, exercising or seeing a film in a cinema where you're at least around people. I find myself spending/wasting less and less time on a computer at home. After all I sit in front of one all day for work.

I love my iPhone as it keeps me connected on the go, anywhere and everywhere. I love my MacBook Pro,...but seriously what do people NEED this for? It's nothing but a bit of techno-wizardry and marketing hype to convince us we need something that we really don't. It even looks awqward to use. At least with a laptop you don't have to hold the screen up with one hand all the time, or sit wierdly so it can rest on your legs.

My one faint hope for this is that it will put all the major newspapers out of business!!!...but that is a long shot.

I've got a busy working life and in my free time I try to spend mostly socialising with friends, exercising or seeing a film in a cinema where you're at least around people. I find myself spending/wasting less and less time on a computer at home.

Actually, I don't think the iPad is a joke, but I really want IPS, too. The current Macbook's have been around for a while, so when can we expect a refresh?

What exactly is the reason as to why Apple is unable to include IPS at least in the Pro series. If they can do IPS on the small end at 9.7" in the iPad, and 27.5" on the biggest iMac, why not a 15" or 17" panel for Macbook's...???

They did build a clever stand, just not to your specs. My guess is that the cover/stand accessory will be the default configuration for most users. It does exactly what you'd want it to: protects the screen and provides a couple of useful positions.

EDIT: Hey, is that true, in your sig? You predicted that the ebook app would be called "iBook"? If so, well played.

Yeah I guess. And yeah I did predict "iBooks", it seemed intuitive to predict it as print media is a different kettle of fish I think, and I thought of the name, thinking: "well if they chose "iTunes" for music then "iBooks" for books makes sense."

They got some things right and somethings wrong as was to be expected. But the ratio of right stuff and wrong stuff is way out of balance.

Right off the bat......it's UGLY! I can't believe the bezel is so big. Great it needs a bezel you say? But does it have to be that large?
It looks like a friggin JOO JOO for cripes sake!

Oh, but it's the software that really differentiates the product hmm? So I looked at that. It disappoints too. They literally phoned this one in! In this case the iphone software. I was hoping that they would design a GUI system that specifically addresses the needs of a device of this particular size. But they didn't.
Software-wise it looks exactly like an enlarged iphone. A GUI which works fine and was innovative for a small tiny handset, but absolutely retarded for a larger screen. Their goal was to come up with a system that was superior to the regular tablet PCs.....they didn't.

They could easily adapt cover flow to be used for a GUI interface for a handheld computer. But they didn't. I can't believe Steve Jobs and Jonny Ive have become so unimaginative.
It reminds me of how profound the writing was for the original matrix movie but how stupid the sequels were.

You know what......I don't mind the closed Apple system, or the no camera, or the software keyboard and what not.
Just make the damn hardware and software sexy and you reel me in like you did for the ipod touch!!!

So while the effort done was.....good. It WAS NOT UP TO APPLE'S STANDARDS. It didn't make their minimum standards.....well ok it did but barely.
I don't judge Apple by the standards of the rest of the industry. I judge Apple by the same standards they set for themselves!!!

Define multi-tasking for me. Taking up Android for comparison here as it support multi-tasking. Are you looking at something similar to Android's onResume and onPause convention?

That would be a start but as mentioned above, having apps actually running so you can listen to music from 3rd party apps like Spotify while you perhaps read an ebook is a good goal. Just throttling back the background app resources should be enough and have a limit somewhere under 5 third party apps running at once.

People used to run Mac OS X on 350MHz iMacs with 256MB RAM no problem with as few apps open. It had a VM swap space but the iphone hardware should be enough for basic multitasking.

Quote:

Originally Posted by colinh

It's trying to fill a gap that I wasn't aware existed.

For me this gap always existed. As a student, I would have loved something like this. Laptops don't work well when you lie down and they have small vertical resolutions so using them for reading text was less than ideal.

It would have had to have been my main computer though. I wasn't well-off and could only scrape by enough to buy a laptop in my final year. It would need to let me control my content with wide format support and apps not limited to the App Store.

The gap still very much exists as Apple haven't satisfied it. Their UI works well but that UI could easily have been run on an Atom + Ion machine much like Front Row. Flexible OS when needed but optimized UI subset for core tasks it does really well.

The criticism of the iPad is ridiculous. Everyone' been clamoring for an Apple Tablet, now they have it and they can only complain???

News Flash, a TABLET, by nature, was likely to be a mid-size multi-touch device with no other form of input. That's what we got.

News Flash, a bezel is required so you can grip the device without having your thumb over the screen.

News Flash, the iPhone OS and app-store are market-proven successes and by their very nature most-adaptable to the tablet form factor...OSX was not an option.

News Flash, the iPad CAN do all the amazing things people talked about before it launched - it can save print media, it can replace a laptop in many situations, it does provide a better web experience than a smartphone, it does provide e-reader functions and a book store. The rest of the 'miracles' in content will come over time; Apple can't be ready on day one or else the word would have leaked and spoiled the free advertising.

News Flash, just 3 years ago everyone crapped themselves when they saw multi-touch for the first time - are we really that spoiled already?

The only legitimate complaints about the iPad:

1024x768. Sure true HD 720p resolution of 1280x720 would be preferable, but even here I understand Apple's thinking, which is that a wide-screen device looks weird when large and held vertically; squarish is more versatile for books/magazines and even the web.

No Front Camera. It would be nice to have the option for video chat on the device. BUT, again, the two problems are the ergonomics of holding/positioning the tablet to capture you without getting just chin or tiring your arm out.

What we GOT is a gorgeous 10" multi-touch display
a super thin and sexy enclosure
10 hour battery life
140,000 apps out of the gate
iWork for productivity
eBooks
eNewspapers etc.
Games
a Digital Photo frame
Keyboard accessory
Camera uploading
HD movie playback (file, not resolution, but it will look just fine).
and LOADS of potential from Apple and developers.

No Front Camera. It would be nice to have the option for video chat on the device. BUT, again, the two problems are the ergonomics of holding/positioning the tablet to capture you without getting just chin or tiring your arm out.

and whats wrong with using the iPad as a mirror to prune the hair in my nose?! The device is something you hold in your hand and it will be great for Skype style video calls. The screen is actually big enough for having a decent video chat as opposed to 3G based phones.

Most of us employ the Internet not to seek the best information, but rather to select information that confirms our prejudices. - Nicholas D. Kristof